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Join Temple Emanu-El's Women of Reform Judaism in Serving God, Our People, and Our CongregationMay 2005From the Desk of Rabbi CohonWe say that the Sisterhood of Temple Emanu-El has been the heart of our temple since its inception-but that's false. Because the truth is that the Jewish women of Tucson were the heart of our temple even before it was created. It was the Ladies Auxiliary who formed the very first organized Jewish group in the Old Pueblo, and it was their initiative that led to the creation of the original Temple Emanu-El downtown. That means that for well over 95 years the women of our temple have led the way in serving the needs of our congregants and our community in meaningful ways, and that as an organized group our Sisterhood has been central to our congregation's prayer, study, social action, and educational life. What a great legacy! But it's not enough to celebrate history. For it is the future that matters most, and has always mattered most, to our Sisterhood. Under the marvelous leadership of Dr. Gail Smith, this year Sisterhood brought added warmth, organization, and commitment to its cutting edge programming. We have now reached a new chapter for the Sisterhood of Temple Emanu-El. To bring the organization up to national standards, our Sisterhood has officially chosen to rename itself the "Women of Reform Judaism". With that new name comes a new direction, a Jewish women's organization focused on making religious, educational, social action, and friendship dynamic and creative. That means that our "Sisterhood Shabbat" on Friday, May 6th at 7:30 PM will be our final one-because next year we will instead celebrate the first "Women of Reform Judaism Shabbat". At that service Gail will explain the new focus on connecting the women of our congregation in challenging and exciting Jewish ways. It is a mitzvah to become a participating member of our Women of Reform Judaism chapter, to help our movement and our congregation flourish in ways that are particularly important to women. I urge you to attend on May 6th, and to join and participate in this exciting new initiative. L'shalom v'rei'ut, in peace and friendship, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
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